Thomas County cat., 1887-03-17
ATONlNG FOR SIN.
Confessions Of Those Souls Deeply Alive to-
the Awfulness of Sin.

Confessions Of Those Souls Deeply Alive to-
the Awfulness Of Sin.
If Dante had wandered in the OBJ
scure wood. and been endangered by
the lion of wrath. the wolf of avarice,
the leopard of pleasure. there never
was any man who more nobly atOned
for his early alterations. or left to all
coming generations more thrilling
pictures of temp perance. righteousness
and the Judgment to come. Like Au--
gustine. he was saved from youthful
sins to be permanently ranked among
the greatest moral teachers of man..
kind.
And we may say the same of another
great teacher-incomparably inferior
to Dante in genius. but far better
adapted for the leading Of the multi
tude-the Bedford tinker. John Bun.
yam. He has himself in his Grace
Astounding" described to us the
agonizing spiritual struggles through
which he passed. the voices he
heard, the visions he saw. the
tumults of emotion and terror which
shook his stalwart frame. No picture
can better enable us to realize his men,
tai condition than that which he has
drawn of the horrors felt by Christian
in the valley of the shadow of death.
when darkness encompassed him on
every side, and demons whispered
blasphemies in his ears.
II walked" he says. ''to u neighbor--
ing town, sat down upon Il settle in the,
street. and fell into very deep pause
about the most fearful state my sin had
brought me to; and after long musing
l lifted up my head; but. methOught,
saw, as if the sun that shineth in the.
heavens did grudge to give me light.
and as if the very stones in the streets
and tiles upon the houses did band
themselves against me. Methought
that they all combined together to.
Danish ME out of the world / was
abhorred of them. and unfit to dwell
among them. because l had sinned
against the Saviour. Oh. how happy
now was every creature over 1! for they
stood fas: and kept their station, but
was gone and lost"
If, indeed, we examine Bunyan's
story, we shall find no sins of which
he accuses himself. except constant,
boyish profanity, falsehood. and Il
Sabbath-breaking which many Laud-
ian divines would have almost regard
ed as merit. He was neither
drunkard nor Il man of depraved life.
The word in general has failed to es--
innate Alright the confessions Of the
saintliest. Bunyan was neither excep-
tiona'ly wicked. as some of his BIZ
ographers represent him. nor. on the.
other hand. are his stern expressions
of self-reproach to be set down t, noth--
ing but the excited. religious sensibil-
tiles of an illiterate man.
There is vast difference. as we may
see, between the way in which sin is
regarded by callOus and by tender
conscience. There are souls so deeply
alive to the awfulness and degra latiOn
of sin. that transgressions. which more
hardened offenders would regard with
complete Indifference. lie on their
memories like spark of fire. We
read of a good man of the last genera
ton, that every sin of those with whose
care he was entrusted
Stuck in him like nail His heart blcd for It.
AS it had been a foul sin OF his own
And this because l.' felt,
That the most childish sin that man can de
Is yet a sin which Jesus never did,
When Jesus was child. and yet u sin
For which in lowliness He came to die.
So it was with Bunyan. He judged
sin. not by the light estimate of man.
but as he believed it to be judged by
God. He envied the horses and cattle,
even the crows upon the plowed land.
because they. at least. were not immor-
tai. Il blessed the dog and toad" he.
says. ''and counted the condition of
every thing tha. God had made. far
better than this dreadful state of mine.
The dog or horse had no soul to perish.
under the everlasting wei ght of hell for
sin. as mine was like to do" Bat
when. as he says, ''thc thunder got be-
rOnd him. he utilized his own painful
experiences for the benefit and instruc-
ion OF Others. and his Pilgrims Pro-
yress from this world to the next is the
memorial erected by the gratitude of a
'oui which regarded itself as having
been delivered from the snare of the
ievil. and taken alive to do the will of
iod.-Archbishop Furrar. in Youths: